3rd Sunday in Lent: 8th March, 2015
Exo 20: 1-17; 1 Cor 1: 22-25;Jn 2: 13-25
The Crucifix is the symbol of "the foolishness of God", says St. Paul today. Where does the folly lie? In the fact that God loves humanity beyond all the limitations and defects found in it. True love not only does not hurt, but also takes the hurt on itself without any complains.
The first readings gives us the covenant, the contract, made between the people and the Lord; and the Gospel presents to us the atrocities humanity ventured into, disrespecting all those commandments and Jesus taking the whip against them. What was happening at the temple was an outright breach of the covenant.
The commandments given to the people ensured the right place for God and the right place for one's brothers and sisters. Both of these were at stake in the Temple as Jesus saw it, that was the reason for Jesus' anger flaring up against them: that they pushed God out of the Temple area and they push the poor and the penniless out of the bounds of the temple area. This was unacceptable to Jesus, the prophet of God, the Son of God, the righteousness of God!
Today, as the Lord enters our lives, our personal lives, our family lives, the life in our faith communities, the life in our societies... what would be his reaction. Just take stock: have we given the right place to God, and the right place to our brothers and sisters?
We know, the right place or the right perspective is not the order of the day! What is the sign that the Lord poses in front of our eyes: not the whip but the Cross, the Crucifix! That is the folly of God. The love of the Lord takes the pain on itself; the crucifix reminds us that every time we hurt humanity we hurt the Lord; the recent inhumanities perpetrated, the rising crimes against women to be seriously thought of today as we keep the International Women's Day, the hurts against the helpless children... the world stands in need of repentance and conversion!
The folly of God, the crucifix alone can drive home the true lesson: love until it hurts! Love never hurts!